Local Search and Online Reservation Services: A Winning Combination?

Netimperative has an article about a new service from the popular UK directory 192.com (they also offer aerial photos) that now offers you the ability to search for a restaurant (about 1300 are currently available) and then make a reservation online. Web-based online reservations are not a new idea. For example, OpenTable here in the U.S. offers online reservations for more than 3000 restaurants. Other companies also offer similar services. That said, I wouldn't be surprised that with the combination of several popular topics these days including, local search, mobile access, Wi-Fi, location-based services, VoIP, and even pay-per-call to some degree, it wont be very long before some of the large search companies are providing online reservations for restaurants and other events. Remember, Ask Jeeves parent IAC/InterActive also owns Ticketmaster and CitySearch. Talk about synergy!!! Heck, with Google Ride Finder you could even have a taxi or car service waiting to take you to and from dinner. (-: Direct links to online reservations seems like a no-brainer for many of the big search players.